4.7 A B C

Motivations

a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior.

4 Perspectives of Motivation

1. Instinct theory (Genetics)

2. Drive-reduction theory (inner pushes & external pulls

3. Arousal theory (Any positive stimulation)

4. Abraham Maslow's hierarchy (Personal priorities)

motivational conflicts theory

posits that decision-making involves 3 main types of psychological conflict

• approach-approach

• avoidance-avoidance

• approach-avoidance

instinct

a complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned.

Physiological Needs

a basic bodily requirement.

Drive-Reduction Theory

the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need.

Homeostasis

a tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state

Incentive Theory

We are pushed by our need to reduce drives, but we are also pulled by incentives — positive or negative environmental stimuli that lure or repel us.

Incentives

a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior.

Sensation Seeking Theory

characterized by the search for varied, novel, complex, and intense sensations, along with the willingness to take risks for those experiences

experience seeking

a desire for novel sensory or mental experiences

Thrill Seeking (adventure seeking)

an attraction to risky or fear-inspiring activities

disinhibition

a loss of self-control

boredom susceptibility

the inability to tolerate monotony or repetition

Yerkes-Dodson law

the principle that performance increases with arousal only up to a point, beyond which performance decreases.

Self-actualization

the fulfillment of personal potential (focus on self)

Self-transcendence

surpassing the ego to connect with something greater (focus on others/purpose)

Arousal theory

Our need to maintain an optimal level of arousal motivates behaviors that meet no physiological (survival) need.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

We prioritize survival-based needs and then social needs more than the needs for esteem and meaning.

4.7B: Affiliation Need

the need to build and maintain relationships and to feel part of a group.

Social Identity

feeling part of a group boosts people's health and well-being

Self-Determination Theory

the theory that we feel motivated to satisfy our needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness.

Intrisically Motivated

the desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake.

extrinsically motivated

the desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment.

Phone Snubbed

when our conversation partner seems more interested in their phone than in us

Ostracism

deliberate social exclusion of individuals or groups.

Self-Disclosure

sharing ourselves — our joys, worries, and weaknesses — with others

narcissism

Self-esteem gone wild. Narcissistic people are self-important, self-focused, and self-promoting.

achievement motivation

a desire for significant accomplishment, for mastery of skills or ideas, for control, and for attaining a high standard.

Grit

in psychology, passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals.

Organizational Pyschologists

ways to engage and motivate ordinary people doing ordinary jobs

4.7C: Glucose

the form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the major source of energy for body tissues. When its level is low, we feel hunger.

Ghrelin

hunger-arousing hormone secreted by an empty stomach

Leptin

Hormone that decreases hunger

Set Point

the point at which the "weight thermostat" may be set. When the body falls below this weight, increased hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may combine to restore lost weight.

Basal Metabolic Rate

the body's resting rate of energy output.

ecology of eating

Social influences and portion size affect the amount of food we eat

ex. friends and family, serving size, food variety, when/how/where foods are presented

Obesity

defined as a body mass index (BMI) measurement of 30 or higher, which is calculated from our weight-to-height ratio. (Individuals who are overweight have a BMI of 25 or higher.)